Futures
by Twilight Zephyr
Summary: Jazz/Jake, mpreg, sequel to Truth : It's big, it's happened. Something has changed in Jasper and Jacob's relationship, and it's threatening to tear them apart. INDEFINITE HIATUS
1. I Symptoms

**Title:** Futures  
**Parts:** I. Symptoms  
**Rating:** pg  
**Pairing:** Jasper/Jacob  
**Words:** 1 803 words  
**Warnings:** This story contains slash, and mpreg; if any of this offends you, turn back now.  
**Disclaimer:** The Twilight series isn't mine, it's all the property of Stephanie Meyer. I do own the plot of this fic, but that's it, nothing else is mine; unless some other characters arise that don't belong, then I guess I own them too.

**I. Symptoms**

Mornings weren't on the top of Jacob's list of favorite things to do. Usually he'd wake up, alone, in bed, because Jasper didn't like staying still for very long. So the young werewolf was happy to find that the vampire was curled up in bed beside him, cold arms around his waist, and dulled gold eyes looked at him. Unfortunately, that morning seemed to be one of the mornings in which his sickness decided to rear its ugly head.

Jerking out of the blond's arms, Jacob raced across the hall and threw the bathroom door open before launching himself at the toilet and began throwing up everything that was in his stomach. The vampire had followed him into the bathroom, relieved that he was finally allowed in because the worry and concern had been getting to him over the past three months when this had been a regular occurrence.

Cool hands smoothed across Jacob's back in reassuring circles as his stomach finished emptying itself and he was reduced to a few dry heaves before the urge stopped. Jacob leaned his forehead against the cool porcelain of the bowl as Jasper took care of the clean up.

He flushed the toilet and then grabbed a small face cloth from the neat stack by the sink, and wet it before wringing it out until it was only damp. Gently, he took his mate's face into one hand, and cleaned his face of any bile which had stuck to it. A cup of water from the tap appeared in front of the young werewolf's nose.

Jacob took the glass and downed it in seconds, but the burning taste of bile refused to go away and clung to his taste buds.

Slumping against the rock hard frame of his vampire, Jacob sighed. At the very least this was starting to go away, he was getting sick less and less often. Whereas for the past three months, he'd been sick every morning to the point where he'd started locking Jasper out of the bathroom when it happened because he couldn't take the vampire's worry and smothering concern.

"Sorry..."

"There's nothing that you need to apologize for," Jasper replied softly. "You're sick, there's nothing you can do about that."

_But I shouldn't be getting sick..._ Thoughts like that raced through Jacob's head. It was true, he was stronger than a human, his werewolf genes gave him a strengthened immune system which meant that most illnesses didn't affect him. And this was unusual in and of itself, because it wasn't anything which Jacob was familiar with. It felt a little like when he'd first transformed, just... different.

Jasper pressed his lips to the other's temple, feeling the confusion that was swirling through the young werewolf. Even Jasper, who hadn't been human in over a hundred years, had to admit that this wasn't natural, and that something serious had to be wrong.

But Jacob had resisted all of Jasper's attempts in getting him to see or talk to Carlisle about what was wrong. He'd refused flat out to talk to him when Jasper had called him after only two weeks of the continued morning vomiting, and then had turned him down when they'd hit both the two and three month marks. It was leaving Jasper with very few options, and he was debating just doing it behind his mate's back.

"Still, I feel like shit," Jacob replied. His head hurt, and he felt exhausted, even though he'd slept for a good eight hours the night before; though that had been on and off sleep at some points. "I just want to get something to eat and then go back to bed."

The blond vampire nodded, distant. He'd noticed the day before that Jacob had been forming dark circles under his eyes that resembled his own when he hadn't fed for days. And those looked like bruises, which had now extended across the bridge of Jacob's nose. While Jasper didn't think it was anything serious, or that it had anything to do with how his mate felt right now, he was still a little curious about why it had appeared.

"You can make yourself something, right?" Jasper asked.

His mate nodded in return and gave him a quick kiss before standing up and leaving, heading for the kitchen to put together another one of his strange concoctions that he'd been eating over the past few days. Jasper had noticed that Jacob would eat things that he hadn't expressed any interest in or like of before, and refused to eat some things because the smell would upset his stomach.

Standing up, Jasper set the bathroom right, knowing that there was the chance that Jacob might be back in there later feeling nauseous. Then he left the bathroom, and checked to make sure that his lover was thoroughly engrossed in whatever it was that he'd dug out for breakfast in the kitchen, before ducking into the small office that was beside the bathroom.

Ever since he'd become sick, Jacob's normally sharp senses had dulled, and even before then he'd had a hard time keeping up with the speed with which vampires usually communicated with. This made Jasper much more confident that he wouldn't know that he'd called Carlisle until he told him. He just wanted to be sure that his mate was fine, this was getting to the point of it being ridiculous.

The phone sat innocently on the desk pushed against the wall. Jasper picked it up, and dialed the all too familiar number.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Jacob had noticed that his reflexes and stamina weren't as sharp as they'd used to be ever since the strange symptoms had started to manifest. He could move as fast as he could before, and while he'd never been able to keep up with Jasper before when running while in human form, now he was even more sluggish than before.

Not only did it upset him greatly, it also bugged him. Somehow, he felt that there was something that his father hadn't told him that night when he and Jasper had initially left nearly three years ago. He'd be nineteen in just a few short months.

Though he'd have to figure out why he was eating chocolate ice cream with pickles, because that was just **_not normal_**. It wasn't the fact that he'd eaten nearly a full tub of ice cream by himself in a single sitting, but the fact that he'd slapped pickles on top of it that was really getting to him.

Once he'd eaten his fill, Jacob tossed the empty carton into the garbage under the sink, and set the now empty pickle jar beside the sink to be recycled later. He then proceeded to go on a hunt for his lover who was probably tucked away in one of the rooms off the hall.

He heard some soft noises coming from the office, and the click of something being set down, but other than that nothing. Opening the door, he peeked his head in, knowing that sometimes Jasper preferred to be alone when he was working. He had no idea what the vampire did for a job, since they were able to afford this rather lavish apartment in a good part of the city, but it had to be something that paid extremely well.

Jasper wasn't doing anything, he was just standing at his desk, hands clenched into fists and resting on the cluttered surface. His mate looked frustrated and maybe even a little desperate, something that worried Jacob but he wasn't about to ask. Jasper could be secretive at times, and usually kept things from him for a reason.

A smile broke out across the vampire's face when he noticed Jacob poking his head around the half-opened door, and gestured for him to come in. Smiling back, he slipped into the room and came over, wrapping his arms around the other's waist. He buried his face against Jasper's shoulder, and deeply inhaled the vampire's scent which he loved so much.

Wrapping an arm around his lover, Jasper pulled the werewolf close, "Your scent's changed a bit... I hadn't noticed."

"Good or bad?"

"Never bad. It's always good, I'm just surprised that I hadn't noticed it sooner." As Jasper had said, it wasn't an unpleasant shift in Jacob's smell, but it was subtle, so it wasn't too shocking that he'd missed it.

"What're you up to?"

Jasper sighed, "I just had something that I needed to do, but it's taken care of now."

"And that was...?"

"I called Carlisle."

"What? Why?" Jacob pulled away and glared at the vampire; he'd told him that even though he was worried about his symptoms, that he didn't want anyone else to know. After all, he'd been so sure that it was nothing serious that required medical attention. Though it was too late now, Jasper had already alerted the worry squad; because if Carlisle knew, then that meant Alice would know, and Edward would too, who would tell Bella.

"I'm worried about you, please understand that Jake. There could be absolutely nothing wrong with you, but I just want to be sure, you're still human." The vampire's voice was pleading, and Jacob had to admit that Jasper had a point.

"Fine. Is he coming here or are we going there?"

Relief swept through Jasper, and he hadn't felt the tension which had been building inside of him since Jacob had entered the room. At least the werewolf wasn't putting up a fight over this, because he knew it could get ugly.

"Since your birthday is coming up, I thought that you could see Carlisle then. Alice has gotten Bella into helping her petition for them to throw you a party; think of it as them welcoming you into the family. And it gives Alice an excuse to go shopping for anything that she can think of that could be expensive and completely outrageous."

"You have a weird family."

"Not really. Alice did it to Bella too, only that was for her wedding."

"Is she a shopaholic?"

"It's a possibility, but I think that it's because she feels that it's the only way that she can feel human; by spoiling those who she cares about. I don't actually know the real reasons."

Jacob pulled away and stuck his tongue out at the vampire, before rolling his eyes. He hadn't forgotten how tired he was, and he just wasn't up to arguing with Jasper right then, so he'd just give in to the vampire's wishes. They could talk this over later, when he was more awake.

"Yeah, okay. So when are we going?"

"Your birthday is in two months, this October, so I'm thinking that we'll leave in September, is that fine with you?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's alright with me. Now I'm going to bed."

The vampire nodded, "Goodnight my love." He pressed his lips to Jacob's forehead, before shooing the werewolf in the direction of the bedroom. "Now go to bed, if you're tired then rest."

"I'll see you when I wake up?"

"Of course."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

I've gradually been dealing with the strange feeling of being violated that having your work stolen causes. The situation's been resolved, but it still doesn't wash away that icky feeling that it leaves in you. Sure, the story got taken down, but the person isn't admitting that they did anything wrong. I'll deal with it, though, so don't anyone worry, I'll just be happy knowing that all of you support my work.

Here it is, the first chapter of my very first foray into the world of mpreg, I'd like feedback. It would be much appreciated, and I should have the next part out shortly. Any and all feedback is welcome, but try to keep it positive. I don't mind criticism, as long as it's constructive and not a flame. Thanks everyone! Much appreciated!

Please leave me a review or feedback.

Twilight.


	2. II Arrival and Diagnosis

**Notes:** So I did say that I wouldn't be uploading any new chapters until I'd finished up to part ten, but I lied. I think it's the guilt of knowing that I'm going to Halifax for nearly a week that drove me to uploading this now instead of later when I was farther ahead in the fic. So, um, enjoy. I think I should upload one of my other fics which I'm working on. Thanks everyone for the reviews!  
**Title:** Futures  
**Parts:** II. Arrival and Diagnosis  
**Rating:** pg  
**Words:** 2 521 words  
**Warnings:** This story contains slash, and mpreg; if any of this offends you, turn back now.  
**Disclaimer:** The _Twilight_ series isn't mine; it's all the property of Stephanie Meyer. I do own the plot of this fic, but that's it, nothing else is mine; unless some other characters arise that don't belong, than I guess I own them too.

**II. Arrival and Diagnosis**

Carlisle had offered to come to Seattle earlier then their planned travel date to Forks, but Jacob had been sure to turn him down because he didn't want to inconvenience him or the small hospital in the town. He knew how dependent they were on the vampire, and it wouldn't be right of him to take advantage of Carlisle in that manner; he could wait just a little longer to find out what the hell was wrong with him.

Another anomaly, because it wasn't really a symptom, had arisen and it had Jacob worried. He thought that it could be cancer, since the weird bulge on his stomach wasn't soft and squishy like fat but hard and firm. What made it even odder, was the fact that it was a few degrees cooler than the rest of his body temperature.

He was hiding the odd bulge from Jasper, but he couldn't be sure if he was succeeding or not. Sometimes with Jasper he couldn't be sure if he knew something or not, he was a secretive and quiet individual who didn't often speak his mind. Jacob loved that about him, it made him very easy to live with, but it also meant that he cared deeply about the people who felt deeply for even if he didn't verbally express it at every moment of the day. How he felt he conveyed through his actions, and even the waves or aura that he gave off.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Jacob couldn't see the strange lump which was concealed beneath an extremely baggy t-shirt which he'd fished out from the back of the closet. Jasper was taller than him, and a bit wider in the shoulders, which meant that any of his clothes that Jacob wore when he was feeling lazy often just hung on him. This was what he was counting on, because he didn't want to alarm the vampire until he was absolutely positive that it wasn't anything life-threatening.

If it was... Jacob would deal with that when the time came.

Turning away from the mirror, he looked at the packed duffel which sat innocently on the bed. Jacob had only packed a few necessities, and nothing fancy or nice. He wasn't expecting to do anything that would involve having to wear fancy clothes (not that he owned any anyways), so he hadn't bothered to pack any. Mostly he'd dug out a few of Jasper's clothes which the vampire no longer wore because of how worn out they were, they were actually a few years old.

Jacob liked them because Jasper's scent clung to them strongly enough that it hadn't faded even though he hadn't actually worn them for a long time. It made him feel safe and much more certain of himself even though he was worried that his time in the world was limited.

"Are you ready?" Jasper asked from where he was leaning against the door frame. His soft voice startled Jacob out of his thoughts, and the young werewolf looked at him for a moment.

"Uh, yeah, I'm packed and ready. Has the sun come out yet?"

"No, but today's a rather overcast day, I should be fine."

Having never seen Jasper out in the sunlight, Jacob didn't know what to expect if he ever did, but he knew that going out in the sun was a big no-no for the vampire since it would 'attract a lot of attention'.

"Oh, okay then." He took the duffel and slung it over his shoulder, for a moment, he felt a little dizzy, but caught himself on Jasper's arm.

"Jake? You okay?" Jasper's voice was worried. He obviously thought something was seriously wrong, his eyes had already started darting over Jacob's face and he was using his peculiar gift to taste the emotional atmosphere to make sure that everything was fine.

Jacob nodded sharply, his hand tightly clenched on Jasper's forearm until he was sure that he wasn't going to be meeting the floor anytime soon. He doubted that he'd ever get that far though, his lover was sure to catch him before that ever happened.

"Yeah, just a little dizzy is all."

Jasper hovered dangerously close to his young mate as they made their way out of the apartment and into the elevator. The car was parked just out front; Jasper had brought it around from the parkade while the werewolf had been packing. Normally they didn't use the car, and they instead would use the motorcycle which Edward had gifted to Jasper years ago; but at times like this, it seemed more prudent to take the car.

Not that it was just a simple car, the Cullens didn't do that.

It was an Aston Martin Vanquish S. Jacob wasn't surprised at the fact that Jasper actually owned one of them, he'd gotten used to the idea that the Cullens had a collection of very expensive cars, but the fact that Jasper could keep it in a apartment parking garage and not have it stolen was a feat onto itself. Of course, Jacob doubted that it was really that simple. Something more sinister had to be afoot.

Not that Jacob really cared, he was just tired and wanted to sleep some more. He'd been up too much in the night, making the constant runs to the bathroom which had become all too common now. It was one of the symptoms which had manifested themselves rather recently.

Unlike the standard windows of the Vanquish S, the ones on this one were tinted so that the interior was always dark or appeared to be in a constant state of twilight. It was probably to keep Jasper looking as normal as possible when he was driving; it wouldn't be good to alarm passing motorists to see something as inhuman as Jasper in the sunlight.

In all of the years that Jasper and Jacob had been living together, it was one of the things which Jasper kept shrouded in mystery about himself, he was very careful to keep it a well guarded secret. Jacob thought that it was maybe because he was worried about how he would feel if he ever saw him in the light. Jacob, though, knew that it wouldn't change anything.

Jasper didn't always have the best control, Jacob knew that, but it didn't bug him. He knew that as long as he was nowhere near death, his body would be able to successfully fight the venom off. If he was ever in a situation where he was going to die, Jacob trusted that Jasper would do whatever it would take for them to stay together. He didn't want to die, and Jasper didn't want him to die either.

Sliding into the passenger seat, Jacob quickly put his seatbelt on as Jasper went around the car at a normal human pace and got into the driver's. Until they were out of town, he would have to at least attempt to stay within the speed limit. It was a weird quirk that every vampire seemed to have an obsession with driving extremely fast or just traveling really quickly.

Not that Jacob minded; he didn't like long care trips.

The drive to Forks and the Cullens' family home there didn't take as long as it would have if Jasper was a human. It didn't take the full four hours that it should have, and they made it there in two and a half.

"We timed it well," Jasper murmured into the quiet of the car. Jacob had fallen asleep, and was only just waking up as they pulled up in front of the house. The vampire's soft voice startled him. "Everyone but Carlisle is on a hunting trip; I didn't think that you wanted to have a huge fanfare arrival."

"So it's just Carlisle?"

"Yes, I called ahead just to be sure; everyone is still out on a hunting trip and isn't expected back until early tomorrow morning." Jasper parked the car and removed the keys from the ignition. "You go on without me and see Carlisle. I'll take your bag up to my room before I leave to quickly hunt down something to eat."

"You're not thirsty though," Jacob noted, looking at his mate's eyes. They were still a warm shade of gold, which wasn't close to black at all.

Jasper smiled and leaned over to quickly press a reassuring kiss to Jacob's lips, "No, I just don't want to have to be away from you for very long. I'll be back before the others, I promise. This hunting excursion will only be an hour or two."

"I guess if you have too, then go."

"I won't go far," Jasper promised. He reached out and ruffled Jacob's hair.

"Be careful, you know that the pack might be out on patrol. Don't go anywhere near the boundary line," Jacob warned. They hadn't made peace with the pack since Jacob's sudden departure nearly three years ago, and there hadn't been time for him to visit and try and work out a solution. From the few phone calls which he'd received from his father, Jacob knew that the pack was against his relationship with Jasper, and that Leah would do anything to keep them apart.

Although, he knew that Seth was much more forgiving. Billy had told him that the youngest member of their pack wasn't willing to accept the explanation which Sam had been drilling into their heads, because he believed that the Cullens were good. They wouldn't feed on animals and hold up a human charade if they weren't.

"_Seth's the odd one out at the moment, if it comes down to it, he would side with you and the Cullens. Even Quil and Embry have bought into the stories; they believe that if they can kill Jasper, then you'll come back to them._"

Climbing out of the car, Jacob waited for Jasper as he fished the duffel out of the trunk before the two of them proceeded to the door of the house. The door opened the moment they stepped onto the patio, revealing Carlisle standing there waiting for them. Obviously, he'd been expecting them.

"It's good to see the both of you again, come in," Carlisle stepped aside and let the two of them inside. "Are you still going hunting Jasper?"

"Yes, you can look after Jacob for me for an hour or two, correct?" Jasper asked. Carlisle nodded, and Jasper left the room, disappearing up the stairs. After that, there was silence.

"How are you feeling today Jacob?" Carlisle asked; leading Jacob inside and to the small room tucked on a far corner of the main room that served as a small clinic. He gestured to the examination table, while he took a seat on the small, rolling chair.

"Um, fine actually. It's not as bad as Jasper makes it out to be," Jacob replied.

"Other than the nausea and the exhaustion, have there been any other symptoms? Strange cravings? Eating more then you usually do?" Carlisle was in full doctor mode, grilling the shape-shifter for more information. He had his suspicions already half-formed, but all he needed was more information to confirm what his intuition told him was true.

"Um, yeah to all of those..." Jacob wasn't sure what Carlisle knew that he didn't, but he wasn't sure if it boded well for him. But the fact that he was still here in the Cullen house meant that whatever it was that he had, it wasn't going to kill him; that was a relief to know.

Carlisle nodded, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose between his two fingers. A long silence hung in the air, and the blond vampire sat there, deep in thought as he tried to put together his thoughts in some manner that made sense. He knew what was wrong with Jacob, yes, but he doubted that the shape-shifter would believe him if he just told him. There would have to be some tangible proof which couldn't be denied.

"I don't know how to put this Jacob..." Carlisle began slowly, dropping his hand. "But you're pregnant."

More silence.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"I'm afraid not. I've scoured every medical condition that could be in line with the symptoms that Jasper described to me, along with the ones that you just confirmed," Carlisle reached out slowly and touched the dark discoloration which ran in a line over the bridge of the shape-shifter's nose and under his eyes and just along the tops of his cheeks. "This also confirms it. If you don't believe me, I can run a blood test for hCG, and give you a home pregnancy test."

"You're missing the point here. I'm a man, which means that I _**can't**_ get pregnant." Jacob didn't understand how Carlisle, a genius doctor who had studied medicine for hundreds of years, couldn't get that.

"I understand that," Carlisle replied. "But there is no other explanation for the symptoms that you're experiencing Jacob. Not even a combination of several other illnesses could cause these exact symptoms, which leaves me with pregnancy as the only viable solution."

Carlisle held up a hand to prevent Jacob from interrupting him, "Men cannot get pregnant, I know this Jacob, I've studied medicine for well over three hundred years. But the fact that you're a shape-shifter and not a full-fledged werewolf is what has led me to the conclusion that, somehow, your body has a different internal structure then a normal human. My best guess is that all male shape-shifters have a buried female reproductive system within them, but it's only activated if perhaps they imprint on a male. I am by no means an expert in the species, but from the information I have, this is the best that I can surmise."

"So you're saying that I'm basically a hybrid of a guy and a girl?"

"I prefer to use the term 'functional hermaphrodite'." Carlisle sighed, before rolling over to the cupboards and drawers which covered the entire back wall of the small clinic. He opened one drawer and pulled out a small cardboard box before wheeling back over to Jacob and handing it to him. "There, a home pregnancy test. Use this after I've drawn some blood for the tests."

A few minutes later, Jacob was standing in the small bathroom on the main floor. The fact that there was a real, functioning bathroom in a house full of vampires was ignored for the simple reason that the test Jacob held in his hand had come back with a result.

Positive.

Holy fucking hell, he was pregnant.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Okay, okay. So I went back on my word that I wouldn't be adding more chapters, I lied. This is the last part, though, that I'll be posting until I've finished up to part five, because that will give me some more leeway to work on other things as well as working on this fic. I want to have more time to work on other fics, and I can only do that if I've written more parts then are posted.

What do you all think? Please leave me a review? Thanks!

Twilight.


	3. III The Consequences

**Title:** Futures  
**Parts:** III. The Consequences  
**Rating:** pg  
**Words:** 2 385 words  
**Warnings:** This story contains slash, and mpreg; if any of this offends you, turn back now.  
**Disclaimer:** The _Twilight_ series isn't mine; it's all the property of Stephanie Meyer. I do own the plot of this fic, but that's it, nothing else is mine; unless some other characters arise that don't belong, than I guess I own them too.

**III. The Consequences**

No matter what Carlisle told him, Jacob still found it too shocking that he was pregnant. Carlisle's theory made sense, though, and he stopped to explain it entirely to the young shape-shifter.

"I'll explain it to Jasper when he returns, but I think that you should be the one to tell him that the two of you are expecting," Carlisle began. "But I'll start with the mechanics of it all.

"Like I said, you're a functional hermaphrodite. My guess is that all shape-shifters in your pack have a dormant female reproductive system, but it only becomes active if one imprints on a male. Imprinting is, after all, a way for you to find the person who not only completes you, but is strong enough to help produce powerful offspring with you."

Jacob's hands stayed on his midsection, he was still too shocked to really comprehend everything that had happened to him. After all, it's not everyday that you get told that you're expecting a baby fathered by your very male lover. Well, Jacob had been incredibly sure about his own sexual identity, but he'd never thought that some part of his anatomy had been altered by his transformation into one of the shape-shifting protectors of La Push.

"So what you're implying is that not only is Jasper my soul-mate, my other half, but he's also the strongest available male to..." Jacob inhaled sharply, it was so difficult to simply _**say**_ the words, as simple as they were. "To... father my children?"

"That's my assumption, yes," Carlisle nodded. "As well, it may have something to do with the alpha blood which you inherited through your father. There is no way that you could be without heirs, and so your body has decided that now is the perfect time for the two of you to have children. My guess is that the stress of the past three years has probably contributed to why you haven't conceived before now."

Jacob nodded numbly, accepting the information silently. He was still rather shocked about the entire revelation that he was _**pregnant**_, and that Jasper was the father. Wait... was it even possible for Jasper to father children? After all, wasn't he sort of... dead?

"Um, not to be rude or anything... but isn't Jasper dead, and been dead for a long time? Wouldn't his um... wouldn't it kinda be impossible for him to provide the needed... stuff for making a baby?" Well, Jacob knew that Jasper had an ejaculatory fluid of some kind, but since vampires didn't seem to produce anything other then venom, he'd never really put much thought to it.

"This is the part that confused me. As far as I know, it _**shouldn't **_be possible for Jasper to father a child in any way, even with a shape-shifter as the, ahem, receiving partner," Carlisle began. "I can only hazard a guess, and that it's something to do with the fact that he's ingested your blood over the years, which I'm assuming he has. I suppose that blood has given him some of your more human traits in this regard, and that's how he was able to produce the needed sperm to make this child, or children."

"Wait... there could be more then one?!"

"Of course, multiples aren't unheard of in pregnancies," Carlisle replied. "Though it's unlikely that you're pregnant with anything more then triplets. Some of these multiples, such as octuplets, are only possible through in vitro fertilization."

His hands covered the small bulge which had appeared on his stomach and which Jacob now knew the real meaning and purpose of. Whereas he'd been terrified only hours early (and it seemed like a lifetime ago), that he was suffering from some strange form of cancer; the idea that he was going to be a 'mother' soon scared him even more. Jacob had grown up without a mother, and he didn't know how he would ever handle the situation; his father, unfortunately, hadn't been too great of a role model.

"Jasper and I... we haven't really discussed anything like this..." Well, that was stating the obvious; neither had even ever suspected that Jacob could conceive. "What am I going to do...?"

Carlisle frowned, "This isn't my business, Jacob, but I think you should talk it over with Jasper. I think he'd be more receptive to the idea then you may think. At the very least, speak with him about this before you decide anything. If you decide that you don't want the child, or children, then I can perform an abortion for you." (1)

Jacob nodded, glad that at the very least he had an option for if Jasper didn't want to go through with this. While he wanted to keep this child (or children; he'd rather keep it a surprise), he wasn't sure how Jasper would take the news. After all, the subject of kids or starting a family had never been broached between the two of them. Come to think of it, they'd never really even talked about their future plans together.

The least that Carlisle did was escort Jacob to Jasper's old room, which was still furbished and smelled heavily of the vampire, and left him there with the message that he would be just down the hall if he was needed.

Left alone, Jacob gave into the dark thoughts and doubts which plagued him. What if Jasper didn't want the baby? What if Jasper thought he was a freak and wanted nothing more to do with him? Jacob had no idea, there weren't any certainties in his life anymore, and it scared him. He still loved Jasper, would do anything for him if it meant staying by his side. Though... Jacob didn't believe that he had the heart in him to give permission to take the life of his unborn child; even if it meant his life.

He couldn't cope with the reality, and fainted.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Jasper could feel the unsettled and pained emotional atmosphere the moment that he was close enough to the Cullen household. Worried that something may have happened to his mate, he hurried back, pushing himself harder then he had ever done so before. If he would have to deal with the bad news (and the worst case scenario was that his mate would die shortly), then he would rather have to deal with it sooner then later. After all, it wasn't like he had much more to live for other then Jacob.

Jacob was his life, and Jasper would never want to lose him. Losing Jacob meant his own death, and it was a relief to Jasper to know that if Jacob ever did die, that he wouldn't be too far behind him.

The house was dead silent when Jasper pushed open the front door and rushed into the main room on the first floor. He could hear the faint noises of Carlisle reading in his study on the next floor, and also the distinctive sound of his lover's heartbeat and breathing.

He didn't notice the soft echoes which beat in time to his precious lover's.

Immediately, Jasper made for the stairs; taking them three at a time in his rush to make it to Jacob's side as quickly as possible. He was down the hall in five strides, and had the door open in less time then it took a person to blink. What he found shocked and scared him.

Jacob was lying unconscious on the floor beside the large windows which made up the entire back wall of the house. Panicking, he raced to the young shape-shifter's side, immediately pulling him into the firm hold of his arms. If Carlisle had left his lover on his own, then that had to mean that it wasn't too serious.

As he turned his lover over, Jasper's hand brushed over the usually flat expanse of his stomach. He froze when he realized that Jacob's abdomen **_wasn't_** flat, and that there was, in fact, a small bump of relatively hardened and slightly cool flesh there. He pressed his hand gently down on it, surprised that the flesh didn't give way beneath his palm.

The source of the emotional anguish that he'd felt earlier was definitely coming from his mate, because he could still feel it swirling about in the air. Whatever Carlisle had told Jacob had obviously not sat too well him and had caused him great distress and pain.

Removing his palm from the curious bump on his love's abdomen, Jasper reached up and cupped Jacob's cheek in his hand.

"Jake? Jake, love, wake up. Please wake up..." he murmured as he leaned in, brushing his lips over Jacob's as he cradled the unconscious shape-shifter to him. "Jake..."

A soft groan told him that the shape-shifter was indeed coming too, and Jasper let loose a sigh of relief.

Jacob sat up swiftly, almost thwacking his head into Jasper's chin. When he looked up to meet his lover's now bright gold eyes, he didn't need to know how worried and panicked his sudden collapse must have caused Jasper. Even if the vampire hadn't been there to see him faint, just finding his considerably younger lover unconscious on the floor was enough to scare him.

"Oh thank God... you had me worried Jake," Jasper murmured, leaning in to press a more substantial kiss to his lover's lips.

Imagine Jasper's surprise when Jacob turned away, and his lips met his lover's cheek. Almost immediately, Jasper pulled back, feeling his lover's shame and depression flowing off of him in waves of anguish. Just what had Carlisle told him?

"What happened? Jake? What's wrong?" When Jacob continually refused to meet Jasper's eyes, the vampire started to become panicked. "Why won't you look at me?! Please, Jake!"

He was awfully tempted to shake the boy, but Jasper fought back that urge, instead holding him an arm's length in front of him, staring at the face which refused to look at him. Desperately, he knew that he was an emotional mess and that it wasn't helping Jacob at all, but he couldn't help it; Jacob would always be his weak spot when it came to his control over himself and his turbulent emotions.

"Jasper..." Jacob's voice sounded so sad, so lonely. It nearly broke Jasper's heart.

"Please Jake, tell me what's wrong. Nothing that could have happened to you could ever make me hate you, could ever make me want to leave you. So please... what happened? What did Carlisle tell you?"

A very long, almost too long, silence fell on them.

Finally, Jacob gathered his courage, and with shaking hands he took one of Jasper's hands in both of his and pulled it to his slowly ballooning stomach. His voice was soft, too quiet to be heard by the human ear, but Jasper heard it loud and clear.

"I'm pregnant."

"What...?" Jasper's eyes flew wide open, and he looked down at his hand and where it rested against his lover's abdomen. It couldn't be... there was just no way...!

"It's true... Carlisle confirmed it. I'm pregnant, and it's your child."

"How...? I mean... I can't..."

"He thinks it's because you've drank my blood," Jacob murmured, still not making eye contact. "You're the only one I've ever been with, which is how I know that it's definitely yours..."

Jasper stared at his hand and then looked at his lover's still averted face, quickly putting all the pieces together. Now his lover's strange behaviour made sense with the new information that he'd been given. If Jacob was pregnant, and it was with his child, then that meant he was probably terrified and ashamed of it; assuming that Jasper would think him a freak or worse.

"And what do you want to do, Jake?"

Brown eyes met light butterscotch, and Jacob felt his breathing hitch in his chest. It was too much like the first time they'd laid eyes on each other, and he doubted that he'd ever lose this feeling; no matter how many years passed, he'd never have that much control over his heart or his breathing.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to keep this child or not? I'll support you in any decision that you make."

"You'd... you'd actually want this baby?"

Jasper smiled, almost sadly, "Of course. I love you Jake, why wouldn't I love this child, our child?"

"I thought-"

"That I wouldn't want this? That I'd reject you?" Jasper was shocked that Jacob might have thought so little of him. "I'm ashamed to think that you'd think so little of me, Jacob, I thought that you knew me better then that."

The harsh words stung, and Jacob could feel the tears well up in his eyes. He'd always known that Jasper loved him, and that nothing could ever make him stop, and yet he'd still let those nasty doubts and fears take him. Jacob knew that he was going to be a mess later in his pregnancy.

"I love you, I've told you so many times; what more can I do to show you that I feel like that? You, Jacob, are the world to me, and I would never let anything come between us. This child only cements the bond that's already between us. I've always thought about a family, even though I knew I could never have one in this life, and yet, by some miracle, I've been given the chance to have one. I can only thank you, Jake, for giving me this little miracle."

Jacob sniffed, and leaned into Jasper's silently offered embrace. He fisted his hands in Jasper's shirt and started bawling his eyes out. He couldn't believe that Jasper had said that, only a short while ago he'd believed that his lover would reject him because of this.

"I can hear their heartbeat, you know," Jasper murmured. "I hadn't noticed before... but it's definitely there. Just an echoing noise, their heart beats so fast, almost like a hummingird..."

"... I love you, Jasper."

"I know, Jake, I know."


End file.
